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Can vomiting be part of an allergic reaction?


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Found out yesterday that my ds is allergic to rabbits. After holding a friend's bunny, his eyes got itchy and red; by bedtime they were nearly swollen shut. :( Gave him some Benadryl.

 

He threw up in the middle of the night. His eyes are better now. Could the vomiting have been part of the allergic reaction? A reaction to Benadryl?

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my ds got bit by a spider (we think) and he turned red all over with hives and then started vomiting. at the time, I had no idea what was going on and called a friend who was an EMT and he suggested benedryl. He finally quit vomiting shortly after taking it. So, in my mother's opinion, yes, vomiting can be included in allergic reactions.

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Yes, it absolutely is a sign of an allergic reaction. The fact that he had both hives and vomiting means two systems were involved, and I believe that is one of the definitions of anaphalaxis. In the future if that happened, you should take him to the emergency room. He needs to see the doctor and get an epi-pen. :grouphug:

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DD the paramedic says, YES, and it's not that uncommon in children and especially with severe chemical sensitivities (exposures to some pesticides and herbicides - such as driving past a newly sprayed field with the windows of the car down, riding a bike near, etc.) and with sudden onset animal allergies. She and her fellow medics don't see it so much with food...food allergies, for whatever reason, seem to manifest more in hives and itchy/closing throat.

 

But, once a child has a reaction that includes hives and vomitting or hives and airway compromise, or hives and feeling faint, etc. (basically two quick strong reactions happening concurrently or within a few hours of each other), future exposures can progress to airway issues which can be life threatening.

 

The hard thing with animal allergies is that even if you shower the child after contact, the dander from the skin which is probably what they are reacting to, is inhaled. So, it's stuck in the nasal passages/airway and sneezing doesn't always expel all of it so the reaction continues. Showering a child after an exposure can certainly help, but the reaction can still go on for a very long time.

 

She is only a paramedic so she can't make any recommendations, but she sees a lot of allergic reactions in the field and says that if it were her child, she would be talking with the family doctor and an allergist to see what course of action is recommended. Since the allergy is rabbits, he could have another exposure without handling a rabbit and especially if you live near a woods or farms. We had two wild rabbits in our yard the other day in the same place the kids had been sitting in the grass a few hours earlier while grooming the dog. Even if you avoid pet bunnies, you may not be able to completely avoid contact.

 

We have three epi-pens in the house or carried on person. DD and DH have very strong reactions to bee-stings - dh being the worst. Additionally, we have lots of benadryl and my Allegra D. We don't have much for allergies around here, but what we do have is WOWZA for reaction severity.

 

Faith

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My son vomits with food allergies. He also has had vomiting as part of two anaphylactic reactions.

 

In our anaphylaxis case he had throat swelling and hives and then hours later vomiting, diarrhea, body swelling, and shock. But that hours later was not an isolated vomit case and you could tell by looking all was not well.

 

I think you need an allergist to make the call about what happened because two body reactions is indeed anaphylaxis which is life threatening. So if that's the case you need an epi pen, strict avoidance, etc. That said, what you describe was not my experience with anaphylaxis at all. I see a kid with an allergic reaction (ie the eyes...) who then vomited later with no other signs anything was amiss. That just doesn't sound anaphylactic to me based on my experience. However, if it was it's serious as subsequent reactions could be much worse so you want professional opinion.

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My son once had a reaction to a medication--hives and vomiting--three or four days after starting treatment. Of course, the doctor at the time claimed that the vomiting couldn't be part of the reaction because it didn't happen right away. Later on, when I listed this particular medication under allergies on some form, a different doctor claimed that the hives weren't an allergic reaction either. Right. I'm still assuming that the entire episode was a medication allergy.

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Could the vomiting have been part of the allergic reaction?

 

Yes, the vomiting is an allergic reaction. It is a severe reaction. My son vomited years ago when he was given shellfish. A year after that reaction, he went for allergy test. The doctors found that he has a severe allergy to shellfish and needs an epi pen. He has several other allergies, none of them does he have such a severe reaction as the shellfish.

 

Your child might have to have a special pen with such a powerful reaction. The Benadryl might have been too weak for that allergy.

 

Blessings to you.

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

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Found out yesterday that my ds is allergic to rabbits. After holding a friend's bunny, his eyes got itchy and red; by bedtime they were nearly swollen shut. :( Gave him some Benadryl.

 

He threw up in the middle of the night. His eyes are better now. Could the vomiting have been part of the allergic reaction? A reaction to Benadryl?

 

Absolutely!

 

DS is allergic to fish and shellfish - we didn't know it for a while and when he was tested and the two were identified, all of a sudden a number of incidents totally made sense - including times he threw up for no aparent reason - his allergist said that vomiting can be part of what happens after exposure. Now that we know the allergy, he's once been exposed accidently to fish and had some minor hives, then threw up later that night...so yes, vomiting can be part of the allergy response.

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My DS also exhibits vomiting with a severe allergic reaction (anaphylatic shock to peanuts). Our ped expressed it as his body trying to get rid of it any way it could, including vomiting and then diarrhea, in addition to the usual hives, swelling, redness, mucus, etc.

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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:Oh, the poor kid.

 

Found out yesterday that my ds is allergic to rabbits. After holding a friend's bunny, his eyes got itchy and red; by bedtime they were nearly swollen shut. :( Gave him some Benadryl.

 

He threw up in the middle of the night. His eyes are better now. Could the vomiting have been part of the allergic reaction? A reaction to Benadryl?

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